EWC football: Kiel handles New Holstein

KIEL – On the opening kickoff, Kiel made a statement: It was not going to be pushed around anymore.

The sideline lit up like a Roman candle when Raiders junior Brandon Zamora-Herrera leveled New Holstein’s returner on the very first play Friday night. From there, the fired-up Raiders simply outplayed the rival Huskies, improving to 3-0 on the season with a 21-7 home victory.

The three wins equal the total of all of last season for a program looking to build back into a perennial playoff contender, having qualified only three times in the last decade.

New Holstein, a program also on the upswing, drops to 1-2. It was the Eastern Wisconsin Conference opener for both squads.

Raiders senior quarterback Jack Meunier made it his personal statement game, too. He threw for 147 yards, but really hurt the Huskies with his feet.

Meunier drove the Huskies’ defense nuts, scrambling off passing plays at times. The QB finished with 15 carries for 166 yards, many of which came on key third-down conversions.

“We knew we had to watch (Meunier) on the option,” said New Holstein coach Matt Rupp. “The first half we forced him to hand it off. But he’s a great athlete.”

The shifty, 140-pound Bonde, meanwhile, added 72 yards and a score for the Raiders.

Second-year Kiel coach Mike Dressler praised the offensive line for wearing down a larger New Holstein defensive front, and for the defensive line for doing the same.

“We kept it up and shut down a good football team,” said Dressler.

Kiel’s passing defense, led by a two-interception night from senior corner Jesus Sandoval, totally shut down New Holstein’s aerial attack. The Huskies completed 2-of-12 passes with three interceptions.

Four times, New Holstein got the ball inside the Kiel 30-yard line but failed to come up with any points.

“We left a lot of points out there, a lot of mistakes in the red zone especially,” said New Holstein coach Matt Rupp. “You’re not going to win your football games doing that.”

Kiel senior linebacker and offensive lineman Trevor Agnew drew special praise from his coach. Not only was Agnew in on many of the Raiders’ key stops, he was a leader, calling what he saw and guiding his teammates.

New Holstein’s bruising back Aaron Schaefer rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown in the opening half, but was limited to just six yards on three carries after that.

Josh Burg had a solid game for the Huskies. He had several key carries on the offense, and intercepted a pair of passes to keep his team in it.

But overall, too many missed opportunities to stay in it.

“We blew it by not doing our jobs,” said junior Dylan Guelig, who rushed for 57 carries on 11 attempts. “Too many penalties, interceptions, missed blocks, missed tackles. We just blew it.”

In a game that featured two teams that are expected to win some, and lose some, in the EWC this fall, Friday’s clash could ultimately be big in the chase for a playoff berth. The Raiders say it was even more than that.

“It was a neighborhood game for us. That’s important to us,” said Dressler. “We wanted to show the community that we can play good football here.”